Friday 2nd February 2007
Distance Walked: 20.6 miles
Start Time: 7:49
End Time: 15:48
Elapsed Time: 6:59
Weather: Sunshine and clouds. Spring, really.
Distance walked so far: 388.7 miles
The Severn Way winds out of Worcester on the west side of the river, past the lines of grand, opulent houses overlooking the racecourse on the far bank. The path here is flat and stable and it’s easy and fairly pleasant walking, as the morning sun threatens to rise. As the city recedes though, the river reverts to type. There’s still nothing to see here. I flirt with the Severn swans but they’re too serene to respond.
It’s only when the path leaves the riverbank, at Grimley and again near Winnall, that I briefly appreciate the ease of following a track by a river. Slogging up and down fields and along lanes, stretching the mileage to negotiate obstacles, certainly makes you appreciate the bland monotony of an almost straight, semi-stable path.
I’d been thinking that the time required to complete this walk would be the perfect opportunity to experiment with facial hair. True walkers have beards, after all, especially those of the rugged explorer varieties. Everyone needs a quirk, and maybe a beard could be mine. It’s something I’ve never tried at least, and with good reason, for I suspect that the end result will be thin, patchy and ginger. Not a good look, even for one as indifferent as myself, so for now I resist.
My smooth cheeks and I reach Stourport-on-Severn, with its attractive riverside promenade and park, and then gambol into the picturesque town of Bewdley, where both the accommodation and the dining are fine and refreshing. My attempts to entertain the people of Bewdley with some challenging selections on the pub jukebox are received with scorn. Here the songs of Dianne Warren rule, and none shall dissent.
It’s only when the path leaves the riverbank, at Grimley and again near Winnall, that I briefly appreciate the ease of following a track by a river. Slogging up and down fields and along lanes, stretching the mileage to negotiate obstacles, certainly makes you appreciate the bland monotony of an almost straight, semi-stable path.
I’d been thinking that the time required to complete this walk would be the perfect opportunity to experiment with facial hair. True walkers have beards, after all, especially those of the rugged explorer varieties. Everyone needs a quirk, and maybe a beard could be mine. It’s something I’ve never tried at least, and with good reason, for I suspect that the end result will be thin, patchy and ginger. Not a good look, even for one as indifferent as myself, so for now I resist.
My smooth cheeks and I reach Stourport-on-Severn, with its attractive riverside promenade and park, and then gambol into the picturesque town of Bewdley, where both the accommodation and the dining are fine and refreshing. My attempts to entertain the people of Bewdley with some challenging selections on the pub jukebox are received with scorn. Here the songs of Dianne Warren rule, and none shall dissent.
Song of the day:
Dennis Wilson
“River Song”
Walkin' down by the river /
Water running through my knees /
River, oh river moves so free /
Oh mighty river endlessly
Dennis Wilson
“River Song”
Walkin' down by the river /
Water running through my knees /
River, oh river moves so free /
Oh mighty river endlessly
4 comments:
Dave,
I've just been figuring out the mileage on my own planned lejog. That process has introduced me to the question of how much to add to the map-route mileage to reflect the realities of detours to accommodation, etc. It's probably harder sledding to search for such than to go on the mapped trail. So it seems reasonable to include it.
Anyway, my question is this. You seem to be following pretty well the same route as Mark Moxon. At Bewdley, he calculated he'd done 343 miles while you are reporting 389 miles. How are you accounting for distance traveled?
Daryl
All my mileages are taken directly from the Garmin GPS tracklog, so are therefore the distances that I've actually walked each day. I have occasionally reduced these figures slightly when I have noticed that the tracklog exported from the device differs from the Odometer on the device.
There have been a few occasions when I have taken wrong turnings which have added extra miles to my journey (the extra 6 miles on Day 5 for example!), but largely I think that Mark Moxon's figures (like those of Andrew McCloy) are the minimum distance between the two points if following the precise route with no deviations. I don't think Mark had a way of measuring how far he actually walked.
Also, my daily pursuit of a place to stay sometimes means that I walk further than someone who is heading straight for a youth hostel or arranged accomodation. I always have to head towards the centre of a town rather than the outskirts which McCloy's route often suggests.
Thanks! This is actually rather useful for me, because it provides an approx 10% factor that should be applied on top of the direct distance to reflect mainly the search for accommodation. My own route plans take a direct route, but I've flagged accommodation that's off that route, and I was wondering just how much extra to allow for "reality". I had been thinking more like 5%.
Keep up the great reporting!
Dave
I've just got back from the pub (Axe & Compass -it's a great pub) and it all sounds good to me!
2 and a half weeks to go for me! Well done Son!
Alan!
Oops!
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